Part of Boston's Big Dig Tunnel Opens

Published 6:00 pm, Sunday, March 30, 2003

The first workday traffic test of a major part of Boston's huge Big Dig highway project went smoothly Monday, traffic officials and drivers said.

Instead of the fender-benders that spoiled its weekend opening, Monday's commute through the northbound lanes of the 1 1/2-mile Central Artery tunnel was "going very well," said project spokesman Sean O'Neill. "People are reading the signs."

By afternoon, rush-hour traffic backed up somewhat at the entrance, though officials hoped it was only because first-time users were slowing down in confusion.

The southbound lanes will open in 2004. The northbound lanes opened at 8 p.m. Saturday to give motorists a chance to get ready for their daily commute. Six minor accidents occurred Sunday.

The $14.6 billion Big Dig is burying two miles of Interstate 93 underneath downtown Boston, replacing an elevated highway that cut an unsightly swath through downtown for more than 40 years.

"It was nice, easy, simple, beautiful and well-lit," said John O'Donnell, 38, who took the tunnel Monday. "It's nice to see some of our tax dollars finally coming to some visual pleasure."

The project, plagued by huge cost overruns, is about 75 percent complete.